--- title: Donald Trump Promises Access to Inaugural 'Underwriters' description: President-elect Donald Trump is seeking to raise tens of millions from those he pilloried to pay for festivities at his swearing-in. canonical: https://time.com/4585726/donald-trump-inauguration-underwriters-donations/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-30T04:11:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T02:02:58.398Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Promises Access to Inaugural 'Underwriters' og:description: Packages range from $25,000 to $1 million. og:url: https://time.com/4585726/donald-trump-inauguration-underwriters-donations/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85c95ee3426be94e/6988b00ffb4eac21478900c8/donald-trump10.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence walk out from Lamington Presbyterian Church after attending services in Bedminster Township, N.J. on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Promises Access to Inaugural 'Underwriters' twitter:description: Packages range from $25,000 to $1 million. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt85c95ee3426be94e/6988b00ffb4eac21478900c8/donald-trump10.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump Promises Access to Inaugural 'Underwriters' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=3bb16c7c-5312-4f78-8e76-50f78e455aa1&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Nov 30, 2016 4:11 AM UTC  President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence walk out from Lamington Presbyterian Church after attending services in Bedminster Township, N.J. on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016. President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence walk out from Lamington Presbyterian Church after attending services in Bedminster Township, N.J. on Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016. The Washington Post—The Washington Post/Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Nov 30, 2016 4:11 AM UTC President-elect Donald Trump may have campaigned to “drain the swamp” in Washington, but he is seeking to raise tens of millions from those he pilloried to pay for festivities surrounding his swearing-in. According to fundraising solicitations, the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee, which is organizing celebrations around the Jan. 20 event, including the official inaugural balls, is pitching “underwriters” on packages between $25,000 to more than $1 million that provide exclusive access to the President-elect, the Vice President-elect and members of his future Administration. The lowest-tier package includes a slot a “select” Washington, D.C., hotel for the inauguration weekend, tickets to the inaugural ball, the swearing-in, the inaugural parade and an “entertainment-filled welcome reception.” Other packages include access to a a “Leadership Luncheon,” an “exclusive event with select Cabinet appointees and House and Senate leadership,” tickets to an “intimate dinner with Vice President-elect Mike Pence and Mrs. Karen Pence,” a “Ladies Luncheon” to meet the women of the Trump and Pence families and a candlelight dinner with the First and Second families. The top-tier $1,000,000+ package includes “priority booking at premier Inaugural hotel,” along with VIP access to the other events. The inaugural committee will shuttle its donors between its official events and their hotels, according to the materials. But despite the high-dollar contributions, donors will still be required to pay for their hotel rooms. “Rooms will be at your own expense, require a four-night minimum stay, and reserved on a first-come, first-served basis,” the fundraising ask states. The fundraising requests mark a slide away from the standard set in 2009 by then President-elect Barack Obama, who banned corporate and lobbyist donations and limited individual contributions to $50,000\. By 2013, Obama reversed himself, allowing corporate donations and lifting the cap on individual donors. Trump, like Obama, will maintain his ban on lobbyist contributions, in addition to the statutory ban on foreign personal and corporate donations. Trump has tapped billionaire friend and donor Tom Barrack to serve as the chair of the committee, while longtime Republican National Committee official Sara Armstrong is set to serve as its CEO. 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